The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-12-21
A TILT OVER M0RMONISM.
SENATORS GALL AND EDMUNDS
ENLIVEN THE SENATE.

The Floridian Bound to Have the Utah
Memorial Printed in the Congress
sional Record, While Mr.. Edmunds
Insisted that it be Referred to the
Committee on Territories.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20.-In the Senate to-
day the resolution offered by Mr.. Call yester-
day to print in the Congressional Record
the memorial of the Constitutional Conven-
ton of Utah was called up by that gentle
man. who asked that it be now adopted.
Mr.. Edmunds preferred that the resolu-
ton be referred to the Committee on Terri
tories, which now had jurisdiction of the
subject.
THE MEMORIAL READ.
Mr.. Call argued that it was due to a
community Of 100000 people to have its
views fairly presented. He understood that
less than per cent. of these people were
guilty Of the practices on the assumption of
which the objection of the Senator from
Vermont was based. He would now read
the memorial to insure its publication in
the Record and to show that there
was nothing Objectionable in it. He there
upon read the memorial. He added that
the Senator from Vermont kn new that there
was nothing in the memorial disrespectful
to Congress, and that there was no reason,
in right or justice, why the Senate should
refuse to hear the petition of 200, 900 Ameri-
can citizens.
Mr.. Edmunds thanked the Senator from
Florida for his gratifying illusions to him.
They were worthy of him (CalD and he
trusted that he (Edmunds) could bear them.
He certainly had not questioned the sin
cerity of the Senator from Florida,
for he (CalD had stood behind
this polygamist hierarchy every time
that it had any interest to advance or
any wholesome legislation to resist. He had
done so with great deal of ability and con-
siderable zeal. He could give the Senator
the praise of being absolutely sincere in
through thick and through thin, come
good, come i'll, and he expected
that the Senator would continue
to do so; and if, in the course of time, Utah
should become a State, and the United
States constitution should be changed SO
that one person might be a Senator
from two States, he had no doubt that the
Senator from Florida would be the first
Senator whom the Mormon hierarchy would
select.
BOLD CHARGES.
He Edmunds) could produce and ask to
have printed in the Record other statements
showing the utter hypocrisy and CANNON
of that performance, and that it was a mere
trick to get out from under the hands of
Congress and from under the laws of the
United States. Everybody understood that;
and he Edmunds) did not rcpose to vote
for spending money in order to print in the
Record that sort of thing.
Mr.. Call said the Senator from Vermont
was not more sincere than correct in his
statement that he Cali had stood behind
the Mormon hierarchy. He had stood be-
hind human rights when the Senator, with
exquisite cruelty, sought to punish innocent
women and children by legislation which
he Cali regarded as unconstitutional, un-
feeling and inhuman. The Senator had
never heard him advocate corrupt judicial
tribunals, or packed juries. or the prostitu
ton of courts of Justice. He (CalD had not
even expressed an opinion as to how he
should vote on the admission of Utah.
That was question for future considera-
ton. He understood by the statements of
reliable citizens-Republican and Demo
crats-that not more than per cent. of the
population of Utah favored polygamy, and
that the young people of the territory were
unanimously opposed to it, and submitted
conScientiously to the legislation of Con-
gress. The objections of the Senator from
Vermont were vain and idle, and were un-
worthy of that Senator. They were not
reasonable as matter of logic, and were
not true as matter of fact.
Mr.. STEWARDS OPPOSITION.
Mr.. Stewart was opposed to printing"the
memorial in the record as it might raise
false hopes in Utah as being an expression
of opinion that its admission as a State
was possible at present. He regretted very
much that Utah was not in a condition to
become State. She was utterly unfit for
it, She was governed by close corporation,
hierarchy. He did not believe there
was such thing as freedom
in Utah. Free schools las understood else
Where) did not exist there. Everything
was made subservient to the political organ
ization known as the Mormon church. 1t
was impossible for United States citizens to
live in any part of Utah, outside of towns
where there was military protection. The
various modes which the Mormons had
of ridding themselves of Gentiles
were cruel, unheard of, unreason-
able, the details of which he
would not relate at present He would hate
to see vote given in the Senate that would
in any way favor the admission Of Utah as
a State until her people were really prepared
to establish government where citizens of
all denominations might reside in peace and
be protected. He did not want to see Utah |
admitted with the weak promise that |
she would abolish polygamy, without any |
evidence that she would abolish the organi- |
AouiOu WHICH, BONtIueu til6 blpIIilOuS WIFI u |
rod of iron, and excluded other citizens |
living among them. He would think it a |
great calamity to have these people put in !
a position where they could change their |
constitution at will, and perpetuate an Or
ganiZation hostile to liberty, and founded |
on pretended religious hierarchy.
MR.. PLATT OPPOSED TO PRINTING IT.
Mr.. Platt argued that there was no more |
reason why the memorial of a self-consti- |
tuted convention should be printed in the |
Record than the memorial of any citizen or |
any number of citizens.
Mr.. Paddock denied that the memorial |
represents the wishes of 200, 900 people. The |
whole population of Utah was only 100000 |
Of which about 10000 were
Mormons. AS to the statement |
that not more than per cent of the Nor
mons were polygamists, he asserted that
they were all polygamists so far as an in
dorsement of the doctrine was concerned
and the belief that it was a divine revela-
ton.
4, Mr. Call said that the memorial having
been read by him, it would necessarily be
printed in the Record, and as he did not |
desire to provoke any further contention in
the mattar no Withdraw hfe resolution